The federal government is being urged to amend blood donation regulations for men who have sex with men, a change that could bolster Australia's dwindling blood supplies.
Lifeblood, the organisation responsible for collecting and distributing Australia’s blood, this week issued an urgent appeal for more donors after a record number of planned donations were cancelled following New Year’s.
More than 6500 people cancelled their appointments last week, the highest number of cancellations in three years. A further 14,000 people either rescheduled or did not attend their appointment.
Cath Stone, the executive director of donor experience at Lifeblood, said the recent cancellations occurred during a critical period. As a result, an additional 12,000 donors are now needed to replenish blood stocks.
“Every day, we are issuing more than 9500 blood and plasma transfusions and medications to Australian hospitals," she said.
“Now that the holiday season has come to an end and people are returning to their normal routines, we’re hoping more people will find an hour in their schedule to save lives.”
Lifeblood estimates it needs an extra 100,000 people to donate blood in 2025 in order to keep up with demand.
Part of the solution may involve permitting men who have sex with men and transgender women who have sex with men to donate blood.
Just.Equal Australia's "Let Us Give" campaign has been pushing for blood equality for years and estimates that if the current ban was lifted there could be more than 50,000 new donations each year.
Spokesperson Rodney Croome said that permitting blood donations from gay men, bisexual men, and transgender women who have sex with men could help alleviate the current blood shortage.
“We want Australia to adopt the same donor policy as the UK, US and Canada where all donors, gay and straight, are screened for the safety of their sexual activity, not the gender of their sexual partner," he said.
“We welcome Lifeblood’s in-principle support for this reform in Australia, but change is taking too long and, as a result, lives are being put at risk.”
Currently in Australia, men who have sex with men must abstain from sex for three months before they can give blood.
This abstinence requirement has been lifted in the US, UK and by many other Australian allies, with all donors asked if they have had anal sex with partners.
In December 2023, Lifeblood said it supported amending blood donation rules and had applied to the federal government's Therapeutic Goods Administration for permission to implement changes.
Lifeblood is working on a two-prong approach, one being a "plasma pathway" and another being a gender-neutral approach for blood donation.
The "plasma pathway", which would allow anyone to donate plasma without a deferral period, was approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Lifeblood plans to implement it in early 2025.
However, changes to blood donation are still under review.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration told Gay Sydney News it had received a submission from Lifeblood about amending blood donation rules and that it was "currently under scientific and clinical evaluation".
In August last year, the Australian Labor Party passed a motion at its national conference recognising the need to end the gay blood ban and adopt individual risk assessments for blood donations.
Eliot Hastie is a senior news producer at Channel Ten, reporting on a range of general stories, specialising in foreign affairs and LGBTQ+ stories. He’s also a reporter for Gay Sydney News, where he covers LGBTQIA+ culture, politics and nightlife. He previously helped to build and launch ausbiz, Australia's only live streaming finance news channel, where he was also an executive producer and host. He has previously worked as a finance and business journalist for publications including Fintech Business, Real Estate Business and other Momentum Media titles. Eliot holds a journalism degree from the University of Westminster and brings experience in both broadcast and digital reporting. Contact Eliot: [email protected]
